Couple who started out as cleaners now run a network of properties
A COUPLE who started cleaning for a living now run a successful property management business which helped them buy their first home.
When parents-of-five Sian and Rhys Morgan started their family 10 years ago, they wanted jobs that would allow them to be around their children but would also earn them enough money.
Business graduate Sian, 33, had previously been working in a bank, while her 36-year-old husband had been taking on odd jobs. After the couple started an unsuccessful dog boutique, Rhys started cleaning. He thought it would a perfect next step for the family to start their own cleaning business, but neither expected the direction it would take.
Sian said: “Rhys thought he could do the cleaning himself and could get more money, so he started advertising and we built staff up from that. While we were doing that we started doing a lot of cleaning in Airbnbs. We thought maybe we could turn this into a business and we literally started it just before lockdown.”
Sian, who is originally from Cardiff, said the couple saw the opportunity to turn their cleaning business into property management company Let’s Manage U when they noticed landlords asking them to go a little bit outside their cleaning remit.
She said: “When we were cleaning for people, we noticed they were wanting more and more for free and I was thinking, ‘Hang on a minute – we’re doing a lot more than just cleaning’. I spoke to them and a lot of them didn’t really want to pay the extra so we just decided we could do this ourselves and look for people who don’t want to manage their own property.
“I went to the landlords we knew from our cleaning contracts to ask if it was something they’d be interested in. One landlord – who we have a couple of properties from now – was just sick of managing tenants and thought if he could earn what he earned before but without the hassle he’d be happy.”
Within a matter of months the business snowballed to the point where the couple now manage 10 properties in Cardiff and Porthcawl.
Explaining how the company works, she said: “Landlords come to us and we manage it completely for them – they’re completely hands-off. When a landlord comes to us, we start by cleaning the place for them and give them suggestions on how to lay it out.
“Then we get a linen company in and dress the beds and things for them. We put out soaps and toilet rolls. We put out a listing for them on Airbnb and booking.com as well.
“I write up all the listings and take all the bookings and oversee on the ground to make sure everything’s running smoothly. We have teams who come in and clean after every guest. It’s just me and my husband doing it. We’ve got one guy who was on our cleaning team and he does some cleaning and also checks around after the cleaners have been in to make sure it’s up to standard. Then my husband will go and check on some other ones.”
She said they work off commission through their website listings but they do get clients in directly through their own website as well.
She said: “We work off commission so we get 14% and then Airbnb take their commission, which is around 20%, but what we try to do is try to get as many direct bookings as possible. So a lot of the time, especially in lockdown, we’d have a company who wanted to stay there for like three months Monday to Friday, so I’d deal with that and try to negotiate a price and take a direct booking for them. You miss out on the hefty platform fees then.”
Sian said it felt “amazing” that their idea took off and was able to support their large family. She said it was really rewarding that they were able to buy their first home together in Tonteg.
“When we had the dog business we weren’t making as much money,” she said.
“We got a job cleaning and we were just on minimum wage and we were renting. We bought a house in March so from this business we’ve been able to afford a deposit and buy a house in lockdown, so we’ve come really far.”
Though the couple have put a huge amount of time and effort into the business, they have still had to juggle the whole thing with raising five children under 10.
Though it sounds almost impossible, Sian said running their own business means they’re able to be more flexible with their time and can spend time with their children when they need it the most.
“Some days it is a lot of work and you do just want a break,” she said, laughing.
“But on the other hand it is really flexible in terms of looking after the kids. If there’s something going on at school, you can go because you can manage your own workload. It works really well for us as a family.
“It’s a very constant thing. We’re always talking about how we can improve things. Then we try our best to do stuff with the kids on the weekends.”
She said that even though it is intense working and living with your partner 24/7, they complement each other perfectly, with each having different strengths that bring something different and vital to the company.
“We’re really lucky that what one of us lacks the other makes up for,” she said.
“He’s got a real eye for detail and will notice everything whereas I’m really good at organising and problem-solving. We’re always talking and working together.
“The most important thing is that we persevere. We were doing cleaning before this – we’ve had our own business for so long that it has become a normal life for us. We learn from it and it gets easier as it goes on – you learn early to minimise chaos.”
But ultimately the best part of doing what they do is making people happy.
Sian said: “It’s so rewarding when people say they had a really good day or say really positive things about what you’ve done well.
“It makes it all really worthwhile because you’ve given them a lovely stay away – especially in lockdown with fewer people going abroad.”